HYDERABAD: With the hunt for the new strain of the Covid-19 virus among UK returnees commencing in Telangana, at least seven infected persons with a travel history to the country have been identified. This number is likely to rise as testing is underway.
These seven individuals, who flew in from the UK over the last 14 days, have tested positive and could potentially be hosting the mutated virus strain in their bodies, which is capable of infecting a larger number of people. They are from six districts of Telangana. In an official release, the Health Department said of the 1,200 travellers, who had flown into the State from December 9 onwards, 846 were traced and tested on Thursday. Of them, seven were found to have contracted Covid-19.
“Their samples have been sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) for genomic sequencing to identify the strain that has infected them. Also, contract tracing has begun for all the seven patients to gauge the extent of the virus spread,” the release read.
Meanwhile, cautious health officials are mandating a 14-day quarantine for all those testing negative, keeping in mind the virus’ incubation phase. “We have isolated those who have tested positive in a separate facility at government hospitals. Their close contacts have also been institutionally quarantined to check the spread of the disease. The cases have come in from six districts so far,” Dr G Srinivas Rao, Director of Public Health, informed Express.
The number of UK returnees has been the highest in Hyderabad district with over 400 travellers, followed by Rangareddy with over 200. All of them have been asked to self-report on a special helpline number and are simultaneously being contacted by the Telangana Health Department to undergo the RT-PCR test. The government, in fact, is going to their doorstep to collect samples, considering the quarantine rules.
All the samples of the travellers are being tested at the Osmania Medical College’s VRDL lab, where experts are individually testing every sample and not following the routine pool testing. This is being done to ensure the sensitivity of the test is maintained, senior officials noted.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Eatala Rajender was updated about these developments at a high-level meeting at the BRKR Bhavan by the Chief Secretary, Commissioner of Health and Director of Public Health. “I appeal to the people of the State to be vigilant as the new variant of the Covid-19 virus is likely to spread rapidly. We suggest that Christmas, New Year and Sankranti celebrations be confined to homes with adherence to all the precautions,” he said.
The Minister reviewed the crucial aspects of vaccine transportation, storage and distribution. “We plan to vaccinate 70-80 lakh people in the first phase. This will include health, police, municipal and fire personnel, as well as the elderly. The second dose will be administered 28 days after the first one. The software required for this entire rollout is also ready,” he said.
Rajender instructed officials to ensure supply of drinking water, tents and chairs at the centres where the vaccine will be administered. “The Chief Minister has noted that the public health system in the State has to be strengthened to withstand any epidemic-like situation in future. For this, we are investing in high-end medical infrastructure,” he said.
Telangana has now initiated the procurement of 11 CT scan and three MRI machines. The State is also initiating a modernisation initiative for all operation theaters at tertiary care hospitals, which is estimated to cost Rs 30 crore.Rajender further informed that by the end of this month, eight new diagnostic mini-hubs will be set up for conducting X-Ray, ultrasound, ECG and blood tests.
State sees 574 Covid cases, two deaths
Telangana saw nearly 574 cases of Covid on Thursday. As many as 44,516 samples were tested. The State’s active case tally stands at 6,815, as only 384 individuals were reported to have recovered from the virus on Thursday. With this, the State’s caseload has risen to 2,83,556 cases with 97.05% recovery. Two more people died of Covid on Thursday, and Telangana’s death toll is now at 1,524